The 76ers enter Wednesday night's game against the Indiana Pacers five games under .500 and without 60 percent of their stating lineup. Andrew Bynum, Thaddeus Young and Jason Richardson are all sidelined with injuries. That's 42 points per game over the course of their careers sitting on the bench in suits.

The Sixers currently sit ninth in the Eastern Conference. They're three-games back of the Celtics, four behind the Bucks and trailing the Hawks by five. They would need a strong second half of the season — which means staying afloat in these next three weeks while Young and Bynum get set for a return — and a crumble from the short-handed Celtics or one of the other middling East teams just to reach the playoffs.

But the question is: Do you even want the Sixers to reach the playoffs at this point?

They're all kinds of beat up. Even if or when Bynum does come back it's unrealistic to expect him to be the same player he was with the Lakers immediately. It's going to take time. Maybe 20-something games. Plus, if the Sixers do make the postseason they would face one of the East's top teams (probably the Heat). You can't like their chances in that matchup. It's safe to say they're not winning a championship this season.

Still, as evidenced by last year's run where the eighth-seeded Sixers beat the top-seeded Bulls in the first round and took the Celtics to seven in the second, anything can happen once you're in the NBA's second season. It can be entertaining and something to build on.

The only real benefit of not making the playoffs would be a better draft pick. And this isn't the best of NBA drafts. There is no consensus No. 1 player or even Top 5. Still, a lottery pick is much more valuable than, say, the 20th pick.

So with 35 games remaining, do you want to see the 76ers reach the playoffs? Or would you rather them fall further in the standings to get a better draft pick and restock for the future?